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Tenders invited for development of new Kai Tak cruise terminal
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    The Government will issue an open tender tomorrow (November 9) for the development of a new cruise terminal at Kai Tak.  The successful tenderer is expected to design, build, operate, manage and maintain the new cruise terminal for 50 years and begin operating the first berth in February 2012.

     The Government aims to develop Hong Kong into a leading regional cruise hub through the development of a world-class cruise terminal with state-of-the-art facilities which are user-friendly, and which provide efficient and quality services.  A Tourism Commission spokesman said today (November 8) that the new cruise terminal would be located at the southern end of the former Kai Tak airport runway, right in the heart of Victoria Harbour. "With its prominent location, we expect the development to be iconic and project an image befitting the position of Hong Kong as Asia's world city and a major tourist destination," the spokesman said.

     Situated on 7.6 hectares of land, the new cruise terminal will comprise, inter alia, about 30,000 square metres for a baggage handling area, a passenger waiting/queuing area, a customs, immigration and health quarantine area and accommodation for other government departments; a maximum of 50,000 square metres in the cruise terminal building for such purposes as hotels, retail space, convention halls, offices, shops and eating places; and at least 22,000 square metres for a landscaped deck.  

     "For details, tenderers should refer to the tender documents. Information on the tender will be available on the Lands Department's website: www.landsd.gov.hk/ tomorrow. A designated webpage providing related information on the project will also be launched on the Tourism Commission's website (www.tourism.gov.hk/) tomorrow," the spokesman said.

     "After the completion of the statutory planning procedure in respect of the Kai Tak Outline Zoning Plan, the Government is now proceeding with open tender of the site zoned 'Other Specified Uses' annotated 'Cruise Terminal to include Commercial Development with Landscaped Deck Above'. Our current timetable is to close the tender on March 7, 2008, after the completion of relevant statutory processes under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance and Foreshore and Sea-bed (Reclamations) Ordinance, and to award the tender in the second quarter of 2008."

     The Government is committed to developing a new cruise terminal on a par with international standards.  For this purpose, the Tourism Commission has been actively engaging relevant stakeholders in formulating the development parameters and requirements for a world-class new cruise terminal since the announcement of the way forward of the project in October 2006.  

     To facilitate monitoring of the operation of the new cruise terminal, the successful tenderer will be required to enter into a service agreement with the Government.  The service agreement incorporates the successful tenderer's proposals and service pledges for the operation and management of the new cruise terminal.  It will be co-terminous with the land lease.    

     The Government will adopt a two-envelope tender approach, with 70% weighting to be given to the quality aspects and 30% to the premium aspects in the assessment of the bids.  The Tender Assessment Panel, chaired by the Commissioner for Tourism and comprising representatives of the relevant Government bureaus and departments, will assess the technical aspects as well as the operation and management aspects of the bids. Key technical aspects for assessment will include, for example, the robustness of the construction programme and the efficiency and effectiveness of the cruise terminal building layout.  Major operational aspects will include the service pledges on operation and management and proposed disclosure arrangements. The assessment criteria are set out in the tender documents.

     The Tender Assessment Panel will be advised by international experts appointed by the Tourism Commission and Civil Engineering and Development Department.  The experts will act as consultants and provide inputs to the panel on cruise terminal operation and engineering aspects.  

     Independent advisers also have been invited to advise the panel on specific aspects. "We are grateful to the Chairman of the Legislative Council's Economic Development Panel, Mr Jeffrey Lam, and the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Mr Anthony Lau, for agreeing to serve as advisers to the panel.  They will advise on tourism and marketing aspects," the spokesman said. "And we have also invited the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and Hong Kong Institution of Engineers to each nominate a member to advise the panel on architectural and engineering aspects."  

     The tender will follow government tendering procedures, with the tender results to be endorsed by the Central Tender Board.  "In addition, the Independent Commission Against Corruption will participate as an observer to the panel to ensure integrity of the tendering process and adequate safeguards against corrupt practices, and provide timely corruption prevention advice to the panel, because of the complexity of the tender," the spokesman said.

     Tenderers are expected to fulfil a minimum requirement of three years' immediate experience in operating a cruise terminal with a minimum annual throughput of 200,000 embarking and disembarking homeport passengers.  

     "We welcome local and overseas tenderers who possess the relevant experience. They should refer to the Tender Notice for details on the minimum requirement," the spokesman said.  

     "The Government attaches equal importance to the development of hardware as well as software facilities for the cruise market. In this regard, we shall establish an Advisory Committee on Cruise Industry (ACCI) to seek advice on measures to enhance the development of Hong Kong as a regional cruise hub.  It will bring together key players in the cruise market, tourism industry, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

     Matters of priority for the ACCI to consider will include -

(a) Co-operation with neighbouring coastal provinces in the Mainland on cruise itinerary development;

(b) Promotion of cruise tourism in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region;  

(c) Entry of cruise vessels (and their passengers) homeporting in Hong Kong to neighbouring ports of call in the Mainland;

(d) Interim berthing arrangements for cruise vessels before 2012 i.e. before commissioning the first berth in the new cruise terminal at Kai Tak in 2012; and

(e) Supply of talent for the cruise market and related industries, including training new talent, retaining existing talent and attracting overseas talent."

     "We would also like to thank members of the cruise market, tourism industry, concerned trade bodies, professional organisations and the general public, as well as members of the Legislative Council who visited overseas cruise terminal facilities in August.  They have provided us with valuable feedback on the development parameters of the project. Their advice is most useful to us for preparing this tender exercise to meet future market needs," the spokesman said.

Ends/Thursday, November 8, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:52

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